Bell and clapper



July 30, 19 57 c. w. GARTHWAIT, JR 2,800,870

BELL ANDCLAPPER Filed Feb. a, 1956 v I mum INVENTOR. I c; 705 w GAETHMILUQ United States Patent BELL AND CLAPPER Clyde W. Garthwait, Jr., Cheshire, Conn, assignor to The Cly Del Mfg; Co. Inc., Waterbury, Conm, a corporation of Connecticut Application February 3, 1956, Serial No. 563,213

Claims. (Cl. 116-155) This invention relates to bells, and more particularly to a bell and clapper assembly comprising only two parts which can be quickly and easily assembled, and is an improvement over the bell disclosed and claimed in the United States Patent No. 2,510,569, issued to Clyde W. Garthwait, on June 6, 1950.

One object of this invention is to provide a bell having a one-piece clapper provided with a yielding locking portion which enables the clapper to be attached to the bell merely by snapping it in place.

Another object is to provide a bell having a supporting loop for a clapper arranged so that said clapper may be assembled to the bell by a simple movement in one direction.

Another object is to provide a bell formed from drawn sheet metal and having a plastic molded clapper.

A further object is to provide a bell clapper made of plastic material and having an integrally formed tongue portion which can be quickly and easily attached to the supporting loop of the bell.

A further object is to provide a bell and clapper of the above nature which will be simple in construction, inexpensive to manufacture, easy to assemble and manipulate, compact, ornamental in appearance, and very efficient and durable in use.

With these and other objects in view, there has been illustrated on the accompanying drawing one form in which the invention may conveniently be embodied in practice.

In the drawing,

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of the improved bell.

Fig. 2 is a similar view, partly in section, showing the construction and mounting of the clapper.

Fig. 3 is a side view of the same, partly in section, showing the shape of the supporting loop of the bell.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary cross section similar to Fig.

eral views, the numeral indicates a bell, preferably drawn from sheet metal and having a pair of curved loops 11 and 12 struck upwardly from the central top portion of the bell to serve as means for suspending said bell from a suitable support. The top portion also has a downwardly-struck loop 13 to serve as means for supporting a clapper, indicated generally at 14.

The general construction of a bell of this type is disclosed and claimed in the above-mentioned Patent No. 2,510,569, although the shape of the downwardly struck loop 13 differs from that shown in said patent, in that in the present modification the loop 13 has a central concave portion 15 curved slightly upwardly for purposes which will be later explained.

The clapper 14 is provided with a bifurcated upper tongue portion forming a pair of suspension hooks 16 and 17, while the lower end of the clapper is enlarged at 18 to form a striker. The suspension books 16 and 17 2,800,870 Patented July 30, 1957 ice 2 have a pair of upper surfaces 19 and 20 which converge downwardly and inwardly and terminate in substantially abutting relationship with each other at the inward edges of under surfaces 21 and 22 respectively.

Preferably, the. entire clapper 14 may be formed as a unit from a material which is both yieldable, yet relatively hard, such as polyethylene, plastic, whereby the tongue of the clapper may be snapped into place, while the striker will make a clear ringing tone when it strikes the bell.

Operation In operation, when the clapper is to be attached to bell, it will only be necessary to push the downwardly converging surfaces 19 and 20 of the suspension hooks 16 and 17 into engagement with the opposite sides of the upwardly curved concave portion 15 of the loop 13, whereupon a further upward movement of the clapper 14 will cause the suspension hooks 16 and 17 to be spread apart, as shown in Fig. 4. Still further upward movement will cause the suspension hooks to spring or snap together again as shown in Fig. 2, due to their natural resilience.

Thereafter, the surfaces 21 and 22 will rest on the upper surface of the loop 13 to retain the clapper 14 permanently in place, and allow full swinging movement of the striker 18.

While it has been found in practice that a clapper molded integrally of a polyethylene plastic will provide a striker 18 having sufiicient hardness to provide a clear note when striking the bell 10, while still offering sufficient resilience to the hooks 16 and 17, to fulfill the above requirements for assembly, it will be obvious that other materials may be used in the construction of the clapper, and that it might be wholly or partially made of metal, if desired.

One advantage of the present invention is that the clapper 14 may be assembled to the bell 10 in a single motion in a straight line in one direction to snap the hooks 16 and 17 over the loop 13. The upward concavity 15 of this loop serves to assist in centering the hooks 16 and 17 during this movement. It is not necessary to perform any other operation, such as turning or twisting the clapper, as is the case, in the prior patent referred to above.

While there has been disclosed in this specification one form in which the invention may be embodied, it is to be understood that this form is shown for the purpose of illustration only, and that the invention is not limited to the specific disclosure, but may be modified and embodied in various other equivalent forms without departing from its spirit. In short, the invention includes all the modifications and embodiments coming within the scope of the following claims.

Having thus fully described the invention what is claimed as new and for which it is desired to secure Letters Patent is:

1. In a bell and clapper assembly, the combination comprising a metallic bell, an inwardly-extending rigid clapper-supporting transverse strip provided in the closed end of said bell, a clapper provided with a striker at one end and being bifurcated at the other end to provide two branched legs, the outer extremities of said legs each being provided with inwardly-directed, aligned co-planar end portions, the outermost periphery of each of said end portions being rounded, said legs being formed of a re silient material to allow expansion of said bifurcated end of said clapper when said end portions are pressed against said rigid supporting strip, whereby said clapper can readily be attached to said bell by a relative pushing motion with respect to said bell.

2. The invention as defined in claim 1, wherein said clapper-supporting strip is provided with a central concave portion for facilitating assembly of said bell and clapper.

3. The invention as defined in claim 1, wherein said clapper is made of plastic material.

4. -The invention as defined in claim 3, wherein said plastic material comprises polyethylene.

5.1In a bell and clapper assembly, the combination including a hollow metallic bell having an open bottom end anda closed upper end provided with a substantially rigid transverse loop extending downwardly therefrom, a clapper of resilient plastic material provided with a heavy striker member at its lower end and having a bifurcated upper section including two upwardly diverging legs, one of said legs having a rounded inwardly extending hook portion the upper surface of which is rounded forming a cam which is adapted to engage said transverse loop and be pushed outwardly in the plane of said legs to perrnit said hook to snap over said transverse loop for suspending said clapper thereon.

Garthwait June 6, 1950 Damiano Dec. 6, 1955 

